Ashes
by Special Agent Chibi
Summary: A quiet snowy day, Auron wonder's what the pouch is at Rikku's side and she reminisces... An LJ challenge submission.


_**Ashes**_  
_By Chibi-Sorrow_

* * *

She watched as the snow fell, her eyes lit up in amazement at the frozen rain that descended around the land. She had never seen snow before. It was just a remarkable sight. Even as it chilled her to the bone, it still brought her childish side about. A delicate smile crossed her features as she twirled in the snow, walking in the back of the group. The snow brought a glow to her heart, lightening the heaviness that surrounded it in memory of the days that came before.

'_Momma…' _She thought as she stopped her childish actions, walking correctly again in a formidable fashion that seemed unfitting for her. Her hand moved to gently cup the pouch connected to her hip. It wasn't unusual for Al-Bheds to carry them around with them, though most other Spirians would find it slightly morbid. A sad smile crossed her features as she sighed in resignation, bowing her head in sadness. It wasn't a normal thing for her, being the 'perky child' of the group. It was a title given to her because of her actions. Her actions that hid how she truly felt, however. She acted as if she had no cares in the world, as if she were the happiest teenager to graze the grounds of their known existence.

And yet… it was all a façade. One that she played by well. It kept everything simple and easy. Everyone was unsuspecting of her hidden fear.

Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, someone grabbed onto the collar of her orange sleeveless top, dragging her off into another direction. She let out a squeal of indignation as her assaulter continued to drag her a bit of a distance before letting go of her shirt. She turned around, her face turning red with anger as she glared at the person before her. Her glare faltered briefly at the man who stood there, but rescued itself in time and resuming its fierce gaze.

"Auron! What do you think you are doing! You have no right to drag me around like that!" She yelled at him, her expression in a fierce pout and her hands on her hips.

"Hmph. Well, **_princess_**," he spoke in a sarcastic manner. "I didn't very well think you'd enjoy walking off that cliff over there. Perhaps I should have let you fall and see how much you'd enjoy your screaming then."

She blinked her emerald-swirled eyes in shock, anger suddenly dissipated as her shoulders slumped somewhat in defeat as she realized her mistake. She clasped her hands behind her back, digging one of her boots in the snow as she looked in shame down at the frost, a light blush covering her features.

"Uhm…I'm… sorry, Auron. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions… I'm just… really frustrated, I guess," she mumbled as she looked up, her eyes gazing at him innocently, letting a small smile cross her lips. She heard a small chuckle erupt from his chest as he shook his head at her. She immediately brightened as she realized he wasn't angered at her actions.

"I suppose you must be - with what is coming soon. I can understand it would be frustrating on a teenager. You are concerned for your cousin's safety. As well as…" he trailed off, eyeing the sack she kept at her side. "Whatever may be in that receptacle of yours that you hold dearly."

She let out a quite audible squeal at that, her blush returning as she gently grasped the bag in her right hand, fisting it gently.

"You don't want to know what is in here… It'd probably gross you out insanely." She murmured, digging her foot into the ground again.

"Try me."

His reply was simple. Precise and to the point; Yup, that was him. She looked up in shock, gaping at him. She knew she really shouldn't be surprised. After all, he was always full of surprises. Despite his looks, he always had been. To **_her_**, at least.

"It's my mother…" she mumbled, holding onto the bag still.

"Your **_mother_**?" He raised an eyebrow at this, giving her a look that bluntly said _'Have you lost your mind?'_

"Yeah…" she nodded as if to convince herself more than him. "It's a customary thing for us Al-Bhed's… Regular Spirians have a sending for their dead. We burn them, or cremate them, keeping their ashes as our memories instead of seeing an image of them in the Farplane. If we keep them this way, it's less… painful. You keep how you've always seen them in your memory, instead of seeing them as a motionless being, just floating there all dead and stuff…"

She fully expected for him to walk away from her; or at least say how sick and wrong that was; like most had. Instead, she heard him quietly, almost inaudibly, speak again.

"How did she die…?" This made her entire body go rigid as she had not expected this question. She fisted her hands at her side, tightly digging her nails into her palms.

"My father… called it a debilitating illness… All I know is that she had had it for as long as I could remember, probably long before I was born… It was an illness that sapped her energy, killing her… I was only four years old when she died…" She turned around after answering him, turning her face up to the sky. She refused to let him see her tears; refused to allow him to think of her as a weak child.

"A debilitating illness…" She heard him murmur as he made his way towards her back, snow crunching under his boots. She felt his hands graze her back, trailing up until they met her shoulders. He gently turned her around to face him. "I'm sorry…"

She felt a sob build up in her throat as she leaned her head against his chest, the black leather soft against her forehead. Her hands clenched the soft, red material of his jacket in her hands as she spoke in harsh tones.

"I could do **_nothing _**for her! I'm so pathetic…" She didn't want to cry out. She couldn't let him see her cry.

"Rikku, you were only four years old. What could you have done? There was nothing you could have done for her, other than be the adorable child I'm sure you were then. I'm certain you made her last years worth everything." He spoke in hushed tones, one hand massaging her arm gently while the other made its way around her back, stroking it in a gentle manner as well. He surprised himself by his own actions. He felt her unclasp a hand from his coat, reaching up to her hair and pulling gently on one of the clips, holding it out in front of them.

"This was… the last gift I received from her… This and the other one like it…" Rikku muttered, fingering them gently with a bittersweet smile crossing her lips. It was a small clip, light lilac in color, its sister a contrasting neon orange. Each fit in her hair in a way that made only the butterfly visible - glittering in the sun when it was hit at just the right angle.

Auron watched her play with the clip bitterly before he took it from her fingers, delicately placing it back in her hair. He let his own sad smile cross his lips behind the cowl, his eyes softening at the girl before him. She was at such a tender age, but she was a strong girl. She would get through this hardship like she did her mother's death.

"If she was anything like you are now, Rikku, she would be proud of you - despite what you may believe." He whispered quietly in her ear, kissing her cheek gently, his bristly skin meeting her own smooth skin in a quick motion. With that done, he straightening out and briskly walked away from her, going to meet with the rest of their companions.

She stared at his back in disbelief. He had just **_kissed _**her. Well, sure, it was only on the cheek, but still! Auron, Mister stoic-guardian-man-who-doesn't-give-a-damn-about-others kissed **_her_**! Well… apparently she had been way off. He wasn't as bad as she thought him to be. And she wasn't afraid to admit it.

'_I won't forget you, Momma… and I hope Auron is right about what he said. Though I'm sure he is…' _She looked up to the sky again, a small smile on her face as she watched the snow falling. She would always remember this day for the rest of her life, however short or long it may be. She patted the sack on the side of her hip as she heard a voice calling for her.

"Are you coming or not?" Her head shot up in surprise as she looked at him. He looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrow raised and a smirk grazing his face. She quickly scurried over to him, almost tripping in the snow while it flew behind her in her haste. Scampering over to him, she grabbed onto his arm, grinning from ear to ear as she clung to him. "Girl, what are you doing now?"

She didn't reply to him as she just held onto him, thinking to herself: _'I earned this!' _Though she didn't voice this out loud, she was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking. He simply rolled his eye dramatically and allowed her to cling to him, continuing onward to meet their friends.

And this was how it should be.

* * *

So, this was my take on an LJ challenge in which you needed to have four of the things listed. I had all five XD.

Mine were: Snow, Ashes, a debilitating illness, butterfly clips, and the phrase 'I earned this'.

It was fun! So, yeah, I decided to submit it here to get opinions here. It supposed to be a story that you have 48 hours to submit, but I did mine I think in 7 or 8 XD. Once I got started, I couldn't stop.

Well, anyways, hope you all enjoy this! And by the way, as for Auron being OOC, this is how I think he would act in this situation. I mean, come on! Do you think he was a mean hard ass to Tidie-whitie pants while growing up? Uh-uh! I don't think so. Tidus wouldn't be such a softie if Auron was.

Review and enjoy!

_Chibi _


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